RISK AND PROFITS INSURANCE AND PRICING STRATEGIES FOR GRAIN PRODUCERS IN SELECTED REGIONS OF THE U.S., A SERIES OF CASE STUDIES

Pre-harvest corn and soybean options-based pricing strategies, and crop yield and revenue insurance were applied to model farms in three states. These combinations reduced income variability while increasing net incomes relative to uninsured harvest cash sales. Adding crop insurances to pre-harvest pricing reduced net incomes from those with pre-harvest pricing alone, but produced larger incomes than uninsured harvest sales. The Ohio model farm was modified to reflect (1) a debt-free operation, (2) a cash renter, and (3) a buyer-renter operation. No strategy was able to cover opportunity costs on investments for types (1) and (3). For farm type (3), mean net cash-flow returns were negative for harvest cash sales, but positive when pre-harvest pricing was added with and without insurance.